Humbled and honoured are two words that often come to mind when I’m at work.
I never cease to be humbled by the stories that I hear - from workers, migrant workers, community members, those advocating for change within civil society organisations, etc. And honoured, that I get to apply the UN Guiding Principles to such a wide range of contexts to help enhance rights-respecting business and improve outcomes for people on the ground.
It’s a privilege to do the work that we do as business and human rights advisors, and I don’t take that privilege lightly.
On a lighter note, did you know that pearl diving is one of the oldest professions in Qatar? And that the pearl industry collapsed following the 1929 Black Tuesday share price collapse which triggered a drastic reduction in demand for pearls? Still, pearling, fishing, and trade were the main ways to make a living here in Qatar. And then, you know what happened. Oil! Discovered in 1940, with the first exports in 1949. And then natural gas. In fact, Qatar is one of the countries that stands to lose the most from the transition to net zero (ranked 152 out of 156) (take a look at GeGaLo index which is absolutely fascinating here).
I leave you with some photos from the National Museum of Qatar which we have just returned from with Ana.
See you next Friday when we'll be back on London soil!
Anna
